The Tennessee Democratic Party today called for legislation that would allow citizens to carry their guns into the voting booth.

Press release after the jump...

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Tennessee Democratic Party Calls for Common Sense Gun Laws
Wednesday, April 1, 2009

NASHVILLE - The Tennessee Democratic Party today gave its full support to pending legislation that would allow citizens to carry their guns into the voting booth.

The Senate bill, SB 357, would remove the requirement that guns be left outside the voting booth.

"For too long, law-abiding Tennesseans have suffered the inconvenience of leaving their guns outside the polling place," says Forrester. "Now however, it has gone beyond inconvenience. With the Republicans removing fair-minded Election Coordinators across the state for partisan reasons, Democrats need to be able to carry their guns to protect their voting rights."

The Republican takeover of the Tennessee General Assembly has impacted county election offices across the state, as GOP leaders have begun replacing law-abiding commissioners for purely partisan reasons.

"I think it would be very understandable that they would want to make a change if there had been problems with the way the elections had been run," Sarah Bailey, coordinator of Elections in Unicoi County told News Channel 11 in Bristol.

However, Republican leaders want to replace Bailey and other Democrats regardless of the quality of their job performance.

The House is expected to reach bi-partisan consensus on a similar bill. "We know that Republicans want guns in parks and bars, so we don't expect any fight from them on this common sense legislation," Forrester said.

"And if anyone has a problem with guns in voting booths, they should just check the date and get over it," Forrester concluded.